Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astronomy
Scientific paper
Aug 2006
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2006aj....132..819r&link_type=abstract
The Astronomical Journal, Volume 132, Issue 2, pp. 819-822.
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astronomy
26
Kuiper Belt, Occultations, Solar System: Formation
Scientific paper
We report here the first detection of hectometer-size objects by the method of serendipitous stellar occultation. This method consists of recording the diffraction shadow created when an object crosses the observer's line of sight and occults the disk of a background star. One of our detections is most consistent with an object between Saturn and Uranus. The two other diffraction patterns detected are caused by Kuiper Belt objects beyond 100 AU from the Sun and hence are the farthest known objects in the solar system. These detections show that the Kuiper Belt is much more extended than previously believed and that the outer part of the disk could be composed of smaller objects than the inner part. This gives critical clues to understanding the problem of the formation of the outer planets of the solar system.
Auvergne Michel
Belskaya Irina
Bickerton Steven
Chevreton M.
Colas Francois
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